A rumor that has gone viral on social media suggests that Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman is gifting each player of the Saudi Arabia soccer team a Rolls-Royce Phantom for their FIFA World Cup upset over Argentina. However, striker Saleh Alshehri and head coach Hervé Renard said there was no truth to it.
Saudi Arabia upset Argentina 2-1 on Nov. 22 thanks goals by Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari in the second half. Argentina held possession of the ball for 70 percent of the match and entered halftime with a 1-0 lead, but that wasn't enough to hold off Saudi Arabia's comeback efforts as it became the first team in Group C to get a win.
During a media conference, Alshehri was asked by a reporter about the Roll-Royce that he was allegedly getting and what color he was choosing. It wouldn't be a small gift: A Phantom model starts at close to $460,000. The player said the rumors were not true, and the reporter followed up with "it's a shame, right?" However, Alshehri was not in a joking mood.
"We are here to serve our country and do the best," he said. "So that's our biggest achievement.
صحفي بريطاني حاول إستفزاز صالح الشهري:
— Ahmed (@xlal_) November 25, 2022
سمعت بعد فوزكم المذهل امام الارجنتين تم تقديم هدية لكل لاعب سيارات روزرايز، هل هذا صحيح واي لون اخترت ؟
صالح الشهري: غير صحيح
الصحفي: مؤسف اليس كذلك؟
صالح الشهري: نحن هنا لخدمة الدولة، ونقدم افضل ما لدينا وهذا أفضل إنجاز لنا pic.twitter.com/js0Dyb7Aow
Renard also answered and wanted to make sure it is clear his team is taking the competition seriously, and that they are still chasing more victories.
"We have a very serious federation. We have a very serious ministry of sport. It is not time to get something at this moment. We only won a game," the coach said. "We still have to get very important games, and we are hoping some more. There is nothing true about this comment. We've only played one game at the moment."
Saudia Arabia will be back on the pitch on 8 a.m. ET, Saturday against Poland, then again on Nov. 30 against Mexico